Sports Picks & Predictions

We went against the Jazz in their first game (at Portland) and went with the Lakers at home in Game 1 (against Houston) and both picks cashed. Now we are looking the other direction. Los Angeles got the win in Luke Walton’s coaching debut but they played a Rockets team that doesn’t play any defense and that fits into their style of play. Tonight they face one of the best defensive teams in the league and points won’t be easy to come by and this will be a new style for the Lakers young guys to play. We hope Derrick Favors is back for Utah tonight, but even if he isn’t the Jazz should have no problem getting the double-digit win in their home opener. They have one of the best home-court advantages in the NBA and there is a lot of excitement in Utah this season and the crowd will be rocking. And Utah really needs a big win here as they have road games against the Clippers and Spurs on deck in their next two games so a 0-4 start is definitely a possibility if they don’t take this game very seriously tonight. Utah has covered in four of five meetings and three of those were double-digit blowouts. The two games in Utah last year were absolute massacres (48 and 27 points) and we think they will take care of business again in a big way.

This is a nice revenge spot for Toronto after losing to the Cavs in the playoffs last season. Cleveland doesn’t normally take the regular season too seriously and they probably won’t give max effort here in this one even though we think the Raps will. Toronto wants this bad, and we think they will compete for the win tonight. Both teams looked good in their openers but the Cavs are overvalued here after beating the new-look and overrated Knicks in their opener. They won’t have such an easy time here on the road. Toronto’s home win over Detroit was pretty impressive, and we think they are in good shape here tonight. The Cavs have covered in only one of the last five trips to Toronto and we see that trend extending tonight.

Doc Rivers, Clippers coach, has emphasized all preseason how Los Angeles needs to get off to a fast start this year. They haven’t done that the last couple years and that has cost them playoff seeding and a tough road in the playoffs. With the Super Team in Golden State in the division the Clippers need to be very focused this season to keep par. They were out of the division race last season after the first month of the season. They really need the No. 2 seed this year in the playoffs to avoid the Warriors for as long as possible, and they need to avoid a slow start to achieve that. This is a major revenge spot for the Clippers after losing to the Blazers in the playoffs last season. LA was in total control in that series before they lost Blake Griffin and Chris Paul to injury. We think they will give max effort here. Portland got a win in their opener against Utah but that game was closer than it looked and they needed a rally to get by the injured Jazz. That type of effort won’t be enough tonight against what should be a very motivated Clippers team whose core has been together for a long time now.

The Kings open their new arena tonight for the first real basketball action and this is one of the biggest nights in sports history in Sacramento. The building will be rocking. The Kings aren’t a great team but they have one of the best players in the game in DeMarcus Cousins, and this team will give max effort in their home opener tonight. The Spurs looked amazing in their season-opening win over the Warriors. We can’t take anything away from them, but Golden State didn’t play very well in that game. And the Spurs were ultra motivated for that one. But there are some signs of trouble for this team as there is some word on the street that LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t happy and of course Tim Duncan is not with the team. We do think the Spurs probably win this one as they have the talent edge but we had this line closer to five points and think that this is an inflated number tonight.

Houston should not be favored by this many on the road against anyone. This team isn’t very good this season and all the offense in the world won’t matter if you can’t play defense. Say what you will about Dwight Howard, but he was a solid defensive player and his presence will be missed. We think the Lakers can be a solid betting team, at least early in the season. This team has an excellent coach in Luke Walton and they don’t have the whole Kobe Bryant retirement party hanging over their head. Last season that was a big distraction. But this team has plenty of young talent and there should be a lot of excitement in the Staples Center tonight and we see this as a close game and the Lakers certainly can notch the win here if they play well. Houston has dominated this series in the past but these teams are closer now than they have been in a few years.

We think the Bucks are in tough here for the season opener on Wednesday. This team lost their leading scorer, Khris Middleton, to a hamstring injury and he is out until late in the season. That hurts what we consider an already-thin roster. The Hornets have some new faces but this is a more veteran club than what will be across the court tonight and they are primed for a strong effort on the road here. The Hornets are the much better club at this point, and we had this line handicapped at 5 with a lean to the road team at that number so we think there is great value here tonight. This is a game the public will largely ignore but they value is there. Charlotte has won three of the last four meetings, covering in two straight.

Minnesota has played well in this series, covering six of the last eight meetings. And this Minnesota club is the best version we have seen during that time. This team is going to be really good this year and they have a great shot to make the playoffs. They should come into this season opener anxious to get the season off to a strong start. Memphis is a team that seems to be trending downward. Their championship window has closed and this should be another transitional year for this club. The Grizzlies are also very banged up heading into the new season. Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau will want to get off to a fast start with his young, energetic team, and the Wolves were a solid bet on the road last season and we expect them to notch a win in the season opener tonight.

We like Portland a lot and had this game handicapped at 8.5 so we think there is some nice value on opening night. The Jazz are real banged up to start the season and that is not a good sign on the road, where the Jazz have traditionally struggled in the past. The Blazers have won and covered both of the last two meetings here at home and they have covered in three of four in this series. Leading scorer Gorgon Hayward will be out here and Derrick Favors might miss the game as well. The team just doesn’t seem very confident right now with these injuries and working some new players in the mix. The Blazers will want to get off to a strong start here in front of the home fans, and they have the better team on the floor at this point of the season.  We just expect a real strong showing from the home team and Damian Lillard will be the best player on the court tonight and lead his team to a comfortable win on the home court.

This series has played out pretty much to a T how we thought it would and we always thought that Golden State would end up winning this thing so that is our strong side play for Game 7 on Sunday. A team is never as bad as their last bad game, and we think the Warriors will have a great rebound game here. They have one of the best home-court advantages in pro sports and the crowd will be rocking here for Game 7. In Game 6 we predicted the refs would play a big part in the game and that ended up being the case. But Cleveland didn’t really need the refs as they won the game fair and square. Golden State, however, did a good job at coming back from a big early deficit and they just kind of fell apart there at the end of the game. The game was closer to us than the final score indicated and the Warriors were in early foul trouble that threw them off their game. But we would have been happy with anything under 8 for Game 7 and we were thrilled when we saw the opening line. We really like the Warriors all the way up to double digits and think they should win this game pretty easily. The Warriors have the better team and better coach, and they will find a way to make adjustments and get the job done. Just as we said in our Game 6 writeup, we didn’t see the Warriors winning two of three in Cleveland and we just don’t see the Cavs winning two in a row in Golden State. The Warriors haven’t lost three in a row all season and Curry and company will be very motivated here and the cream will rise to the top on Sunday and the seserving team will come away with the trophy.

The Cavs grabbed the momentum in this series with a Game 5 win in the Bay Area. The Warriors were without Draymond Green in that one and he will be back here. But that was a pretty dominant win and we’re not so sure that Green would have made a difference there. The Warriors are a great team – one of the best in NBA history. But most of their damage has been done at home, and they now have 12 road losses on the season. Cleveland has lost only nine games at home. We just don’t see the Warriors winning two of three in Cleveland, and Cleveland really seems to have found their groove in this series. They played excellent defense in Game 5, and it was a bit disconcerting to see the Warriors basically give up at the end of that game when things began to look out of reach for a comeback. Also, even though the NBA is not “rigged” like a lot of people thing, certain stars and teams get preferential treatment, especially at home. The NBA stands to make millions upon millions if this series goes to Game 7, and with two of the three biggest stars in the game competing on this stage and with how compelling this series has been you know the league really wants this one to go to Game 7. So we are pretty sure the Cavs will get preferential treatment from the refs if this game is close, and even if a couple extra calls go their way that can make a huge difference in a close game. Game 5 is a crucial one for teams up 3-1 to close the series out, especially on their home court. We saw some examples of this recently with the Rockets coming back from 3-1 against the Clippers after LA blew Game 5. And in these same playoffs we saw the Warriors recapture the momentum against the Thunder by winning Game 5 to come back and win their series in seven games. Golden State really put themselves in a bad position by not taking care of business in Game 5. We expect this series to be pushed to Game 7 and think the Cavs are the only way to play this one.

We always thought that the Cavs would win one game at home in this series and that’s why we stayed away from the side in Game 3 and went with the total for our big play. But now that the Cavs got that win out of the way we think there’s a great chance that the Warriors take this game and put the Cavs on the brink of elimination here. The Warriors have lost consecutive games only once this season, last series against Oklahoma City, and we just don’t see two bad games in a row from them. They are the better team in our eyes even though this team has been prone to some off games late in the season and in the playoffs like we saw in Game 3 of these finals. Curry has not done much in this series and we think it’s very doubtful that he doesn’t go off for a big night and very soon. And there’s no reason it can’t happen here in Game 4. His slumps don’t last long and this guy lives for the big stage like this. This is one of the best-coached teams in the league (something that can’t be said for Cleveland) so the Warriors have the players and coaching to bounce back from a bad-looking loss like Game 3 and we think they will make the necessary adjustments to play a much more competitive game. Love should be back here for Cleveland and he has been very ineffective this whole series and we don’t think it’s a coincidence that the team thrived with him out of the lineup in Game 3 and until he shows he can play a lot better under the major spotlight we have to think he might hold the team back. We had this line at Warriors -2.5 for this game based on our ratings and we have to feel that they can pull it out and getting the extra points here just helps us immensely in case there is a last-second winning shot at the end of the game for the Cavs. But overall we think the Warriors will step up the defense and you won’t see near as much success out of Cleveland for Game 4 on the offensive end. We think the Warriors offense will wake up here (this team seems to respond well to a wakeup call as they did when going down to OKC 3-1 in that series).  Take the Warriors plus the points for Game 4.

We were pretty sure that the Warriors were a solid and strong favorite coming into this series and their Game 1 domination just solidified our stance. The west is just so much stronger than the east and we think the Warriors faced their toughest test in the Western Conference Finals in their win over Oklahoma City, a team that was playing as well as any team in the league at the time. Cleveland was a trendy pick for an upset in this series, but we just don’t see it. Yes, they are healthier than last season. Yes, they have looked awesome in the playoffs so far. But besides LeBron what have the core players on this team done in the past? Irving and Love had absolutely no success before they linked up with LeBron and that just goes to show us that these guys aren’t true leaders. Look at DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento. He is the type of player that should lead his team to the playoffs every year. But he always comes up short. We put these guys from Cleveland in the same category until they prove us wrong. Curry and Thompson could not get anything going in Game 1 and the Warriors still recorded a blowout. Doubt those guys are going to be held in check for two straight games at home. There are two nights off before this game and that really benefits the home team here and we see them rolling again in this one by 10+ points. You would expect that the bookies would make this line about 5 if they thought Cleveland had a chance to play better in Game 2 so we think it’s very telling that they made this line larger than the Game 1 number and that tells us the bookies are confident in the Warriors as well.

While we think this will be a long series and there will certainly be spots to go with Cleveland later in the series we think the Warriors are clearly the play in Game 1. With a few nights off and in front of the home crowd we think that Golden State will come out with a strong performance here. They just overcame long odds to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series against the Thunder in seven games. They are the more battle tested team here and we think they have better momentum. The Cavs haven’t really been tested this playoffs and even in their series against Toronto they faced an overmatched team. The extra rest here benefits the Warriors and we think the road team could be rusty here. Golden State has covered in four of the last five meetings in this series and we think they take Game 1 by eight or more points.

We thought the Thunder would close this series out in Game 6 but the Warriors staged an incredible comeback after trailing most of the game and they caught the Thunder slipping. Now we are here for Game 7. We are not sure who will win this game. It will probably be the Warriors since they are at home. But the Thunder definitely have the chance for an upset and we expect a close game here. The Thunder played two pretty poor games last two times out and the way this team has played down the stretch and in the playoffs we don’t see them playing three like that in a row. Golden State hasn’t looked that great lately and they have counted on bursts of scoring and hot streaks at the right times for success in the last two wins. I like the professional attitude that the Thunder have shown in this series and the playoffs in general and this team has tons of playoff experience and they won’t just roll over here and we thought that this spread should be 4 max and we think this is a very public line. We see this one as being a close, high-scoring game and it should be a very good matchup but the Thunder are the only way to play this one in our opinion.

We have been pretty spot on in this series, hitting four out of five side plays, and our vision of how this series would play out has come to fruition almost perfectly. And we always thought that the Thunder would win this one in six games, and that is how we have to play this one. They have looked dominant in the two games at home and won those games by a combined 52 points. Even in Game 5 at Golden State the Warriors didn’t look like their dominant selves. The Thunder played a pretty lousy game and they were still within striking distance in the fourth quarter. We expect them to play much better at home tonight. This Warriors team was the best regular-season team of all time. This is a great team, no doubt. But they expended so much energy going for the NBA regular-season wins record and this is the first time they have been truly tested in the playoffs in the last two seasons. It has been pretty much a cakewalk for them up until this point, but now they face a team that is probably better than them at this point of the playoffs. The Thunder had some struggles early in the season with a new coach and it took everyone awhile to get on the same page. But now this team is playing as well as any team in the NBA has all season and they have a pair of stars in Durant and Westbrook that we think will dominate Game 6 here and send the Thunder to the NBA Finals. The Warriors lines have been inflated all season. We went against them quite a bit because they always had very public lines. That didn’t work out well very often. But now the lines have stayed inflated and we thought it was a joke they were favored in the first two games at OKC and after how the Thunder performed in those two games we think the Warriors are being given too much credit with this Game 6 line as well.

We were on the Raptors in Games 3 and 4 here at home but we think this team is done after they just got manhandled in Game 5 in Cleveland. That had to destroy the confidence of this team and they lost all the momentum they gained in tying this series 2-2. Cleveland played a great game on offense and one of their best games of the season on the defensive end. We think the Raptors tying up this series gave this team a real wakeup call and they don’t want to rely on a Game 7, even at home where they have played their best this series, to advance to the NBA Finals. Toronto looked really flustered and tried to force things too much in Game 5 and we think the Cavs will bring the same defensive gameplan to the table and honestly we don’t think the Raptors can make a lot of adjustments here and they can’t count on the Cavs poor shooting for three games (in Toronto) straight. Cleveland dominated this last game in every phase of the game and they really have Toronto on the ropes and running scared. We think they will give a full team effort tonight and we expect them to carry the momentum from last game on here tonight, not to mention the starters got the fourth quarter off (for both teams) and that benefits the Cavs more with a better roster overall. Toronto has a very nice team but not one that is NBA Finals worthy and we think their run ends here on Friday night.

We have been on the OKC Thunder heavy in this series with great results but we think the Warriors will bounce back in this one to push this series to Game 6. The blowout in Cleveland last night just underlined how important home-court is in the NBA Playoffs as the Cavs looked lost in their two games in Toronto and then bounced back with an incredible performance on Wednesday night. We think the same thing will happen tonight. Golden State is the best home team in the NBA and this team thrives in situations where people doubt them. They seem to feed off it. We think we could see another blowout like in Game 2. The Thunder played with a lot of intensity in Games 3 and 4 but with this series now at 3-1 it is just going to be hard for them to bring the same fire here on the road. Golden State is desperate and after a couple of poor shooting games the buckets should come much easier here at home. The spread hasn’t really come into play in the playoffs too much and this series is a big example of that. These are the two best offensive teams in the league and whomever wins will have a big point total, which makes the spread pretty irrelevant. The team that wins this game will be the one that is playing the better game offensively and with offenses like this a spread around this range doesn’t worry us. We think there is a great chance the home team wins this one by 10+ points. OKC has covered only one of the last six meetings here in the Bay Area, and we expect that trend to continue tonight.

While we do think the Cavs will win this one at home we also think this is an inflated line. The Raptors have to be feeling confident after two strong wins (and covers) at home to even the series at 2-2. Not only do they have momentum here but they also have Jonas Valanciunas coming back from injury tonight, and he has been a key cog in the machine that has got the Raptors this far into the postseason. Cleveland scored two blowouts to start this series but the Raptors had just finished two grueling 7-game series and the Cavs had a lot of time off. Now these teams are more on the same page as Toronto is in the groove of this series now while the Cavs are not as fresh. We had this line handicapped at 7.5 for the home team so we think there is some great value here tonight.

Wow, the oddsmakers really keep disrespecting the OKC Thunder here. This team is playing the best basketball in the NBA right now and should not be an underdog against anyone at home. We are getting another public line here. Everyone thinks that the zig zag theory is in effect or that Golden State just had a couple off games, but we think that the Thunder will win this series and we expect them to put the Warriors on the brink of elimination tonight. We have always been of the thinking that the Warriors would crash and burn in the playoffs. They were our preseason pick to go all the way. But they peaked in the regular season when chasing the regular-season wins record while other, smarter, teams were preparing for the playoffs. Golden State used up so much energy in that pursuit and they forgot that they weren’t really challenged in the playoffs last year by a good team and that they might this year and that they would need everything they had. Well now they face a formidable foe and this Thunder team flat out looks better and more determined than the Warriors right now. Westbrook and Durant are playing some incredible basketball and they will be tough to beat at home. The whole team is coming together and they have been playing strong defense that has really frustrated and flustered the Golden State shooters. You see some frustration coming in from stuff like Draymond Green’s antics, and this is causing a huge distraction that this team doesn’t need right now. In fact, this Warriors team has dealt with nothing but distraction between the regular-season wins record, Curry’s injury in the playoffs and now this with Green. OKC is just quietly going about their business and this team seems primed for a championship run. We expect another strong showing by the home team here and they know that their time is now to close out this series and we think they get the job done in a high-scoring game.

We really liked the way Toronto locked down on defense in Game 3 and held the Cavaliers to only 84 points. While we do think that the Cavs will obviously be able to score more than that tonight we still think there is value in the under and on the underdog Raptors. Toronto is not as bad as they looked in the two games in Cleveland and the Cavs are not as good. Toronto was coming off two exhausting seven-game series and they didn’t have time to get their footing against the best team they have faced in the playoffs. But now they are in the groove of this series and they have some nice momentum in Game 4 after a Game 3 blowout. Even though the Cavs get all the respect here you have to remember that the Raptors are one of the best home teams in the NBA. They are 39-11 at home this season (compare that to the Cavs 28-18 road record). They also won and covered both meetings here in the regular season so they match up pretty well here on their home court, in our opinion. We think they are going to use the same formula here with a lock-down defense and try and slow the game down. We think this will be a close game but we think the Raptors have a chance to win it, too, as we think this line is a very public one and that this series is not as lopsided as it looked in the first two games in Cleveland. Also, the under is 22-5-1 in the last 28 games in Toronto.

When we first scanned the line for Game 3 when it was released we saw the number and thought that was about right. But we quickly rubbed our eyes and realized that it was Golden State that was favored and not OKC, so we knew we had to release a strong play here because we think the wrong team is favored. Yes, Golden State got a blowout win in Game 2 at home. But that was one of those games where everything went right for them and their shooting was hot. But overall we like the way the Thunder have been playing defense in this series, especially on the shooters, and we think they will win this game at home on Sunday. Of any team in the west we think the Thunder matches up with the Warriors the best. They have two dynamic players in Durant and Westbrook that can match Curry and Thompson and their role players have really stepped up their game and Donovan is looking like he will be an excellent pro coach as well. Just think this is another very public line and we expect OKC to get the win here on Sunday.

Was leaning to Toronto in Game 1 but glad we didn’t pull the trigger as they were blown out. But we think that they will bounce back here in Game 2 and play a better game, and we are getting an even better line here. Game 1 was just one game and we don’t think it was a true reflection of the disparity between these two teams. Yes, Cleveland is the better team and Toronto is banged up right now. But the Raptors are a very tough and very proud team and this squad is not going to roll over for anyone. This is one of the better defensive teams in the east and they are definitely capable of making some adjustments here to keep the Cavs from scoring a lot. Look at the Spurs/Thunder series out in the west as San Antonio got a big blowout win in Game 1 and everyone thought that OKC was done. This line is an overreaction to Game 1 and we think Toronto will play better on offense and tighten up the defense and we think they will keep things close in a low-scoring game.

We thought the Thunder were undervalued in this series and their Game 1 win just solidified those thoughts. That game was no fluke. Now we are getting an even better line for Game 2. We think that OKC has risen up and is now on a level playing field with Golden State. Durant and Westbrook can match Curry and Thompson and the role players for OKC can match those of the Warriors. The Thunder started off the season with a new coach and it took time for everyone to get on the same page. But they are playing their best basketball right now maybe in the Durant era and they just took down freaking San Antonio, including two road wins, and they made it look pretty easy. The Spurs had one of the best regular seasons in history. We said late in the season that the Warriors might face trouble in the playoffs because they expended so much energy going for the regular-season wins record and that has now finally come to fruition. This is the first real challenge they have faced in the last two playoffs as all their opponents were either on a much lower level as a team or hobbled with injuries when they played Golden State. But we just think that this is a very public line. We think Golden State -4 would be more appropriate here. OKC has covered five of their last six games and their only non-cover was a slim one. The Warriors had some trouble with Portland and that series was closer than the results might show. Not sure if the Thunder will win this one. But we think they can if they play well. But we just think that all the games in this series will be close and this is too many points tonight on a very public line. OKC is 6-2 ATS as a dog of 7 or more points this season and the way this team is playing right now they should never be getting more than four as long as they are healthy.

Even though the Thunder didn’t play great against the Warriors in the regular season, besides that one OT loss at home, the playoffs are a different animal and we don’t think this series will be a cakewalk for the Warriors. OKC is playing their best basketball of the season right now and they are peaking at the right time and to us these teams are a lot closer than the lines indicate. We expect a competitive series here. Golden State once again had a pretty easy path in the playoffs. They faced a Houston team in the first round that didn’t belong then they played an upstart Portland team that was a strong team but one that had a lack of top-level talent and wasn’t even expected to make the playoffs by most. But their opponent tonight is playing well and is very formidable. This is the time for Westbrook and Durant to finally make it over the hump and win a championship and we think they will give it all they have in every game and even though this team got off to a slow start it is finally melding together now and we think they come into this series a bit underrated. Both teams have played a lot of unders in these playoffs. Both play at a fast pace but both are also extremely strong defensively. In fact, both teams are in the Top 5 defensively for field goal percentage defense and we just think this total is about 4-5 points too high for Game 1.

We have said all along that we think this series is going to 7 games and have no doubt that premonition will come to fruition tonight. Just when one team looks to have the upper hand the other comes back strong. There is no conspiracy in the NBA, but the refs can have an outcome on the game and you know the NBA wants at least one Game 7 in the semifinals and the Heat will probably get some home cooking from the refs tonight. The Raptors have been overrated in this series and they only had one strong cover and that was in the last game. Both teams are banged up but we just like the Heat in this series and think their experience will pay off here. DeRozan has been pretty ineffective in this series so far and he is banged up and if not at 100% then the Raps lose a big difference maker. Miami is a great home team at 27-19-1 ATS and we think they will get the job done tonight in front of the home fans.

Curry is back and that means the public bettors are back in Golden State’s corner. And that’s understandable because they have been amazing against the spread for most of the season. You rarely see that from a team like this that the public loves. However, we just think they made too big of an adjustment here for Curry’s return and this spread is a few points too high for Game 5 here. Portland has played really well this series and this team is playing its best basketball of the season. They should have covered in Game 2 but ran out of steam late after having a lead most of the game. They scored a blowout at home in Game 3 and then took the Warriors to OT in Game 4 with Curry in the lineup off the bench. Just think this team is being underestimated a bit and Draymod Green didn’t help the Warriors cause with disrespectful comments after Game 4. Portland has nothing to lose here and we think they play a strong game that stays within double digits. Portland hasn’t had much trouble scoring on the Warriors the last couple games and we think this one will be high-scoring as well.

San Antonio is one of the best home teams this season in the history of the league and they have one of the best coaches in the history of the game, and we think they get the job done in the most important game of the series here in Game 5. The Thunder got a big blowout win in Game 4 to retake home-court advantage but the Spurs are the masters at bouncing back after a game like that and they will be ready to play. We think there is a great chance for a Spurs blowout like we saw in this same building in Game 1. The Spurs are the better team here, both SU and ATS, and even though the Thunder have surpassed our expectations so far in this series we still think the Spurs get the job done here and we think there is a great chance for them to return the favor with a double-digit win.

The Warriors had a rare off game last time out but this team is excellent at bouncing back after a loss and we don’t see any way they don’t win this one with authority. The Warriors are the better team even without Curry on the court and they have made this look easy so far in this series up until that Game 3 hiccup. They don’t want to give any chance for the Blazers to even this series up so this is the most important game of the series and we just think the cream will rise to the top here. Golden State has a very strong history in this series as they are 20-7 ATS in the last 27 meetings and we don’t see this one as being very close as a motivated Warriors team takes care of business tonight to put the Blazers on the brink of elimination.

We have been very impressed with the way the Warriors have played in this series without Stephen Curry. They have a lot of confidence and have proven that this team is more than their star and a very good ball club with tons of depth. They didn’t seem fazed at all when they were down big in Game 2 and they unleashed a massive finishing move in the fourth quarter that not only won the game for them but also covered the big spread. We liked Portland in the first couple games because of the fact that they were playing with “house money” and had probably reached their unspoken goals for the season of not only making the playoffs but winning a first-round series. But it seems like they have been content with that as their fourth-quarter effort in Game 2 was very poor. The Warriors will face their first real test of the season in the Western Conference Finals and we’re sure they want to go ahead and finish this series in 4 to give Curry more time to rest and heal. When Golden State sets a goal they normally have success and we think they will put the Blazers on the edge of elimination tonight.

The Spurs looked mortal last time out and the Thunder looked very good but we still think the Spurs are the much better team here and expect them to bounce back in a big way. The Thunder will get their points here at home and we think the Spurs will concentrate more on offense than defense and we expect both teams to surpass the century mark here. San Antonio showed they can score on this team as they put up 124 in Game 1 and these totals have been adjusted way down from what the numbers were in the regular season, too far in our opinion. The Spurs aren’t going to panic after losing Game 2 at home. This team has seen it all and is the best-coached team in the league and they will be calm and business-like here and they will just go about their business and win this game. Even though the Spurs played a rare lousy game in Game 2 they still had a chance to win it at the end and the Thunder gave a great effort that we aren’t sure they can replicate. The Thunder are a popular upset pick in this series but we just don’t see it and we expect the Spurs to regain home-court advantage tonight.

We like the Hawks to make some adjustments here and keep this game closer than Game 1. Even though the Cavs won and covered Game 1 this team always has at least an extra point added to their line because they are such a public team and we think this is one of those series where the bookies should have lowered the line down to 6 or 6.5 for Game 2 as we think the Hawks will tighten up the defense and make some adjustments on offense and play better here and this team is much better than the Detroit club that Cleveland swept and they are just not going to roll over. This team plays excellent defense and they are very well coached and we expect a bounce back here tonight.

We liked the Blazers in Game 1 but the Warriors jumped all over them in the first quarter with hot shooting combined with very cold shooting from Portland and they got behind so bad that this really affected the look of the entire game. We expect the Blazers to play a much better game here and without Curry in the lineup for the Warriors this is a more even series than it would appear after Game 1. In fact, the Blazers outscored the Warriors 89-81 in the second through fourth quarters. We expect them to make some defensive adjustments here, too, to keep the Warriors from extended hot shooting streaks. Portland was down by 26 at one point in Game 1 and they came back and made it respectable at the end and you got the feeling if they would have added a minute or two to the clock that the Blazers would have covered. Both teams have trended to the under and we think we will see a much different game here in Game 2 as this one will be close and it will be much more low scoring.

Both teams went to Game 7 in the first round and that is why this series is getting started so late. We think the Hornets are a better team right now than the Pacers so the Heat had a tougher first-round matchup in our opinion. They are the more battle-tested team in this matchup and we thought this line should be 3 max (we would lean Miami at that number) but we think this is an inflated number. Miami likes to start strong as they did against the Hornets with two big blowout wins to start the series. Toronto laid an egg in their first-round series with a 10-point loss here at home to the Pacers. We just feel like Miami has gotten it together at this point late in the season and the playoffs and these teams are more equal than the seeding would suggest. Toronto hasn’t covered in four straight games and that shows us that this team is a bit overrated by the oddsmakers right now, especially when they win and don’t cover. The under was 11-3 combined in these teams’ first-round series and we think this one will be a defensive battle as well.

We were on the Spurs in Game 1 for our big play and they just dominated the Thunder and that game proved to us what we thought about this series from the start – this one is a major mismatch. Normally in a situation like this the oddmakers will post a smaller line for Game 2 but this line has actually gone up by a point and that tells us a lot about the strength of the Spurs right here. The Spurs are going to do what they do and they will not get too high because of the Big Game 1 blowout but on the other side of the court that really has to shake the Thunder’s confidence as this is a hopeless series for them. San Antonio had a regular season for the ages and was only overshadowed by what transpired in the Bay Area but as well as this team played in the regular season, this team was built for postseason basketball. We expect them to win comfortably again tonight. While this won’t be a major blowout like Game 1, we do expect the Spurs to win by 10+ here tonight. The Thunder can only make so many adjustments but Game 1 was not a fluke and these two teams are on different levels.

Loved the way the Hawks played in their series against Boston. If not for a loss in OT the series would have been over much quicker and they recorded blowouts in the last two games of the series. Cleveland has been one of the most overhyped teams in the NBA this season and even though the east has overall been getting better year to year it is still not as good as the west and Cleveland is not on par with the best teams in the west but the oddsmakers line them like they are. That is part of the reason they are so poor against the number (39-44-3 ATS on the season). The Spurs are laying the same line against OKC tonight but they are a much better team and one of the better ATS teams in the league. Atlanta does great in this pointspread range and they are 15-6 ATS when getting between 5.0 and 7.5 points, and we expect a real close game here as the Cavs have had too much time off while Atlanta has major momentum on their side right now.

Just don’t think this big of a spread is warranted in this Game 1 matchup. The Blazers are one of the few teams to knock off the Warriors in the regular season – when Golden State was pretty much full strength – and this team is in fine form right now and playing some of their best basketball of the season. They knocked off the Clippers in 6 on Friday night and even though LA was injury ravaged they played a truly heroic game and it took a very strong effort for Portland to win that game. So they are in full playoff form right now and they have played three straight excellent games. Their shots are falling right now too and they don’t get more than a day off here so they will keep their positive momentum. The Warriors made it look easy against the Rockets but that team barely made the playoffs and this is a much better club they face tonight and this is where the loss of Curry really starts to hurt the team. We think this will be a close game and the Blazers should be free and loose here as their season goals have pretty much been met and anything above this is just a bonus. Golden State has a lot more pressure here and we don’t think the rest of the top players on this team have the same mental fortitude as Curry. Also, Curry has not been even ruled out for Game 2 yet but he could be back soon so the Blazers need to strike here while the iron is hot and play like this is Game 7.

Miami took back control of this series with a road win in Game 6 and we expect them to take care of business here in Game 7 at home. The Hornets have a fine team but this team is pretty inexperienced in this scenario and Miami has seen it all in the playoffs and has tons of experience to draw from here. And they have the better team in this matchup as well. The Hornets are not a great road team. They are 19-25 away from home this season and they are a .500 team away from home against the number. Miami compiled a record of 30-14 at home thus far this season and they were often underrated here in South Beach with a 25-18-1 ATS record at home. They were also 27-14 ATS when laying less than seven points so they have been undervalued a lot as a small favorite. We expect the threes to be hitting and for the home crowd to propel this team into the second round with a big win that comfortably covers the spread.

The Spurs are the better team here. In fact, with Curry out for Golden State this is the clear-cut best team in the NBA right now in our eyes. And this team has had five nights off to rest and prepare for this series. That is a huge edge. Some teams might be rusty in this situation but we don’t think that will be the case at all for the veteran Spurs who have seen every possible playoff scenario in the past. Even though the Thunder covered all the matchups in the regular season this is the playoffs, and Gregg Popovich is the best coach in the NBA and he will have his team ready. The Spurs were one of the best ATS teams in the league at home this season at 25-18 ATS and they were great as a big favorite with a 35-24 ATS mark when laying big points. Popovich will come up with a great defensive plan to slow down the OKC offense tonight and he has the soldiers to execute that plan as the Spurs were by far the strongest defensive team in the league and the Spurs can go toe-to-toe on offense with OKC as well rested and fresh. This one is a very easy call for us tonight.

We had the Blazers last time out and we expected the Clippers to look shellshocked and lost after losing CP3 and Blake Griffin to injury in the span of about 15 minutes. They looked horrible at Staples Center in Game 5 and got blown out. But they still had a chance for the series in that game and there was a lot of pressure on guys to step up. Now all the pressure switches to the Blazers and we don’t think they will handle it well. And the Clippers should play pretty lose and free and they really have nothing to lose here and no expectations since everyone has already handed the Blazers the series. Redick and Crawford were cold last time out and you won’t keep shooters like this cold for long and without all the pressure we think they will play well. The Blazers were just 1-4 ATS this season laying big points like this and you have to think a good coach like Doc Rivers will come up with a gameplan here to give the Clippers the best chance to be competitive.

This one has all the makings of a 7-game series and we think the Heat will even this thing up tonight. These are two pretty good teams but we think the Heat have the higher ceiling and they have been more consistent in this series since their losses have been pretty close but their two wins were blowouts. The Heat have been held back by the Hornets defense but you can’t hold this team down too long and we think there is a good chance we can see an offensive explosion tonight from them. This team scored 123 and 115 in the first two games of the series and we think in this must-win game they will go all out to try and get the offense rolling again. Miami is a tough team that has been in every possible playoff situation and we think that experience pays off big time here tonight.

Atlanta is the overall better team in this matchup and this line is more than fair on Thursday night. Atlanta has played very well in all but one of the games in this series and won Game 5 by almost 30 points. They have Boston on the ropes and should be able to deliver the death blow tonight. Boston would have more of a chance in this series if Avery Bradley was not hurt but even with Bradley in the lineup you feel this team is still a year away from being a serious contender. We think the Hawks have figured out Boston and Game 5 was the proof that this series is now a mismatch and the Celtics have a major uphill battle here. Atlanta did a real good job defensively on Isaiah Thomas in Game 5 and now he is hobbled with an ankle injury and we feel this is just the end of the line for a Celtics team that is very good but not yet as good as their adversary here tonight.

Stephen Curry is more important to his team than any other player in the league and we think this line is too big with him out of the lineup. The Rockets were blown out last time out and that is why the line is so large here but we expect them to keep it close tonight. They were in the game at the half last time out before crumbling in the second half. We think they will be able to put together more of a complete game here with Curry out as he makes everyone better on the Warriors and Klay Thompson, although a great player in his own right, is no Curry and is prone to bouts of inconsistency and Houston can focus more on slowing him down as he has most of his success in tandem with Curry. Houston has been good at bouncing back after a loss and is 5-2 ATS in their last seven in this situation and we think they keep it close but Golden State wins.

We have seen this story before with the Clippers. Adversity hits and they fold. We saw it vs. San Antonio a few years ago and also against Memphis. We saw it against the Rockets last year where the Clippers gave up a huge fourth-quarter lead in Game 5 and then had no real chance in the rest of the series. Once this team mentally checks out they don’t have a chance. Once Chris Paul left Game 4 you could see it in the Clippers play – they already looked defeated and barely put up a fight the rest of the game. Now DeAndre Jordan gets what he wanted when he almost went to Dallas. He is The Man. But just don’t think this guy is mature enough or good enough to lead this team and he already looks shaken as his free throws have been even worse than normal in the last couple games. The Clippers don’t have the confidence to win this game or series. Portland is playing with all the confidence in the world and this team has a makeable path to the WCFs with Curry out in Golden State. We had this line at 7 and wish it would have stayed at Clippers -2 like the opener but we think there is great value here also in the under which has hit in five straight meetings and we don’t see the Clips doing anything on offense tonight and they will have to concentrate on defense in order to stay competitive here.

The home team has dominated this series, winning and covering in all games. We don’t see that changing tonight and expect Miami to push the Hornets to the edge tonight. The Hornets are an amazing home team but they are awful – for playoff team standards – on the road with an 18-25 record on the season. Miami scored double-digit wins in both home games in the series and we think that’s the way this one goes too as there seems to be no such thing as momentum here as the home games have been one-sided for the home club pretty much for all four games even though the Heat staged a late rally in Game 4. Miami has done very well at defending the home court against top teams (14-7 ATS on the season) and we think they get another comfortable win here tonight.

Toronto is the much better team in this matchup and despite the lack of playoff success we have to think they get a big statement win here at home in Game 5. This is a must-win game as if the Raps lose this they go back to Indiana Friday with the Pacers having a chance to close the series out. Toronto just couldn’t get anything going last time out as they were blown out in Indiana. But like most NBA teams, both of these clubs are much better at home than on the road and the Raptors are one of the best home teams in the NBA both SU and ATS. They are also 23-8 ATS at home in this series in the last 31 meetings and that is a long history of pointspread dominance. We are getting a short line here because of the result of the last game but we think the cream rises to the top tonight and we expect a strong performance from the home club here.

The Blazers rallied to win Game 3 and that puts more urgency on the Clippers to get a win here. This team has been in enough Game 7s that it knows it does not want to go there again so early in the playoffs with Golden State looming in the next round. The Clippers took the lead late in Game 3 but Portland took it back and the game was closer than the final score indicated even though the Clips did not play their best game and the Blazers played pretty well. But LA is one of the better road teams in the NBA and this first-round series is pretty much a mismatch and we expect the Clippers to play very strong defense here as we liked some of the things they have been doing in this series even though Portland hit some key shots in Game 3. LA has been very good in bounce-back situations all season and we expect them to take care of business here tonight and head back to Stapes Center with a chance to close this thing out in 5 games Wednesday night.

Dallas is a proud team and this squad has been one of the better ATS teams on the season. So we don’t think they are going to roll over tonight and we expect them to put up a fight here. Since the last two games have been high scoring we don’t want to mess with the total but we do expect the Mavs to play strong defense and for this to be a lower-scoring game and that makes the points more valuable. This one can pretty much be a blowout and we still cash this ticket but we think it will be closer than double-digits. Also, Dallas always seems to play well in OKC as they are 20-8-1 ATS in the last 29 meetings here in Oklahoma. We expect the underdog to play hard here tonight and they won’t go out on the wrong end of three straight blowouts but the Thunder will only win by 7-9 points tonight.

We thought that this would be a pretty evenly-matched series but now the Hornets are down Nic Batum and he is one of the real glue guys for this team. Even though they won with him last time out the Heat had a bad game in Game 3 and they have just looked like the much better team for most of this series and we expect them to take care of business here after the Hornets got what may be their one win of the series. We think this Hornets team probably peaked too early as they were one of the better teams down the stretch of the regular season but Miami is playing its best ball of the season right now and this team has really turned things up on the offensive end. The Heat are 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Charlotte and we think they win this game straight up tonight. We expect a close game but you have to take the points because at this point the Heat are the better team.

Things got very chippy in Game 3 and the refs were quick to call fouls. There were 54 free throw attempts made in Game 3 (214 total points scored) as opposed to 28 in Game 2 (161 points scored). We think the refs will be quick with the whistle again here as they don’t want this to evolve into a straight up brawl and these offenses are starting to get into a groove in this series and we think there is a great chance that both teams get over the century mark here. Neither team did anything amazing last game as far as FG% but the refs called a lot of fouls for easy points and the pace was swift. We expect the same kind of game here and think that both offenses will play well, especially Isaiah Thomas, who scored 40+ in Game 3 really seems to be in a zone. At the end of the day we expect Boston to win this game and thought that this line should be closer to 4.5 as they have a solid home court advantage and they have shown that the system works no matter which players are available and this is a balanced team that can absorb injuries better than others.  

Houston got their win last time out and that is the first time in five games that the Warriors failed to cover but Stephen Curry is back here for Game 4 and reportedly feeling close to 100 percent and the Warriors have been a good bounce back team after a loss. Golden State is 4-0 ATS in their last four after a loss and we just feel the cream will rise to the top in this mismatch of a series. Without Curry and the Warriors having a down game in general they still almost won and should have won that game if not for a no-call on Harden’s last-second shot. But slights like that are what drive the Warriors and we have no doubt they will bring their A Game tonight and that A Game normally means big trouble for the opponent. We are sure they watched the Clippers lose last night and will want to end this series ASAP and hope that LA goes to 7 games like the Clippers seem to do in every playoff series.

We expect a close, low-scoring game here and think that the Mavs will bounce back at home after getting embarrassed in front of the home crowd in Game 3. Dallas has played some of the strongest defense in the league down the stretch of the regular season and we expect them to tighten things up big time and slow the game down here as the Thunder did whatever they wanted offensively in Game 3. This total has been adjusted too high and Games 1 and 2 went way under the total but because of Game 3 they have adjusted this line upwards by five points and we have this total handicapped under 200 tonight. Great value on the total and an underrated Mavs team that has been one of the better ATS teams all season and will be ready to make their last stand here in order to make this a series. We don’t think they will win because the Thunder have the clutch players to make a difference at the end of the game but we do expect a close game here and think the underdog is the way to go on the side.

We always thought this series would be close but after two Miami blowouts in South Beach the Heat have looked like the dominant team. But we still think the Hornets have a good chance to grab momentum back in this series as this team is much better at home than on the road and they are desperate tonight and we think they will play with purpose here in Game 3. The Hornets are 10-2 ATS as a favorite of between 3 and 4.5 points, and they are 11-8 ATS at home against above-.500 teams. This was one of the best teams in the NBA after the all-star break and this is a better team than they have showed so far in this series.

Just don’t see Memphis having any kind of “last gasp” in this series or making any game competitive at all. They were one of the worst teams in the league down the stretch and this roster is so decimated that they don’t have any hope of scoring enough points to hang with San Antonio and this is probably going to be another very ugly game. There aren’t many adjustments that can be made here for the home team. They have played pretty solid defense in this series but the Spurs have been better and their offense is words better than that of the Grizzlies. The Spurs just aren’t the kind of team that has a mental letdown in this situation. They are extremely focused right now and they treat every game like a must-win. This team has been great laying big numbers all season because they don’t let up at the end of games like some teams do with big leads. We think both defenses will be on point here and this will be another low-scoring game but the Spurs will be able to do enough to cover as we don’t see the Grizzlies doing better on offense than they did in the first two games just because of a change of venue.

Boston is down after going 0-2 in the games in Atlanta but don’t count them out yet. This team took Atlanta to the wire in Game 1 and even though they didn’t play well in Game 2 this team is back home now where they are a much better team than on the road. They have a great home-court advantage and are very well coached and they will be ready tonight despite some injuries. Boston was very good this season at home against winning teams as they went 12-7 ATS and they were also solid as a small favorite like the situation they are in tonight at 13-9 ATS. Boston was also underrated by the bookies at home a lot this season and we think that is the case tonight. Boston is in a must-win situation here and we think they respond with a big win here that easily covers the spread.

We are getting a great line here because Stephen Curry is doubtful for this game. We don’t think it will matter as the Warriors are the best team in the NBA and they have tons of weapons. The Rockets looked completely disinterested in the first couple games of this series and this was a down year for the team and they know they won’t be advancing past this round. The much better Houston team got a win here at home last season in the WCF playoff matchup but they were also beat by 35 here and that team had it together more than this year’s group that barely made the playoffs. Harden and Howard have been at odds lately and that just hurts the chemistry of this team. With Curry injured the Warriors want to end this series ASAP to give him more time to rest for the second round. We feel there is a good chance for a double-digit win tonight.

The Blazers were another team blown out in Game 1 that we expect to come back strong here in Game 2. The Clippers looked great in the second half of Game 1 and their defense on Damian Lillard was exceptional. But Portland will make adjustments. What we have seen from the Clippers in the past is that they can look championship-caliber one game and look lost the next. Heck, this can even happen from half to half with this team. Once again the Clippers have a lot of pressure on them in this series and this playoffs in general and this team just hasn’t handled the pressure well in the past and we expect a close game here and the Blazers will play a much more complete game. The Blazers were very good ATS on the road this season and also it’s very telling that the Clippers don’t face a larger line than in Game 1 here after the blowout we saw in that game.

Cleveland has been one of the most overrated teams all season. Yes, they earned the No. 1 seed in an improved Eastern Conference but they were also 37-43-3 ATS this season and the bookies often lay too big of a number on this team. We think that is the case tonight. The Pistons are a good team and they are probably as good as some of the higher seeds in the east even though they struggled with consistency during the regular season. But they are playing with house money here and they just want a strong performance that will be something to build on for next year. All the pressure here is on the Cavs, and this is not that great of a team like those Heat teams with LeBron and the Big 3. We don’t think this team is championship caliber. Heck, the Cavs never made the playoffs with Irving as the No. 1 star and neither did the Wolves with Love. The Cavs didn’t do well against big lines this season and we expect a hard-fought game from the visitors like in Game 1. Detroit has covered in the last three meetings and we thought this line should be closer to 7.

Game 1 was a blowout for Miami as they won by 30+ points. But it’s very telling that the Hornets are getting basically the same line that they were in Game 1. The oddsmakers expect a closer game here and we do too. When healthy the Hornets are a team we really like. Game 1 was just one game and we think the Hornets will do everything in their power to play well here. That means tightening up a defense that gave up 123 in Game 1. In cases like these the winning team will normally do what they did in the previous game as far as their gameplan but the losing team can make adjustments. We expect a strong defensive effort from the road team and a much more competitive game. Handicapping the NBA is never as easy as looking at the last result and saying “Miami is the more dominant team and they will blow them out again.” This was just one game and it doesn’t matter that the Hornets lost by 30 or 3 as they can get right back in this series with a win here and we expect them to play much better tonight, win or lose. We expect a close, low-scoring game here.

The Celtics staged a big comeback in Game 1 of this series and it was a one-point win by the Hawks in the end but Atlanta was up by as many as 19 in that game. We don’t think that they will take their foot off the gas in this one and expect a win by 8 or 9 here and double-digits certainly isn’t out of the question. Avery Bradley is out here and even though this guy isn’t a household name he is one of the glue players for this team and one of the better defensive players in the league. His loss really hurts the Celtics and Olynyk is also questionable here. Boston will probably have a couple rookies getting extended minutes tonight and that isn’t a good thing in the postseason. Boston has been one of the better ATS teams for most of the season but they are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 road games and we think this is a spot where they are overvalued again.

We think this is going to be a very close series and we give the Clippers home-court advantage and not much else. We handicapped this game at -3.5 and we knew the bookies would open at a much higher number. Once the Blazers got their early-season kinks out this team started to play excellent basketball. They were not expected by anyone to make the playoffs this year but here they are, as a No. 5 seed no less. They should be loose and free here and all the pressure is on the Clippers in this series. And as we have seen in the playoffs the last few years this team does not handle pressure too well. Blake Griffin is not in game shape yet and we don’t think he will be his normal beast self, at least early in this series. If the Clippers flame out before the Western Conference Finals there will likely be some big changes within the organization and that creates even more pressure because everyone knows this. Of all the lower seeds in the west this Portland team is the most dangerous and the Clippers are the most vulnerable of the higher seeds and we think this Game 1 will be extremely close and an outright upset would not surprise us. The Blazers have covered in four of the last five meetings in LA, and we see the same result here for Game 1.

Toronto has just dominated this series lately and we don’t see this playoff series as being any different and we think the Raptors will make a statement here in Game 1. Toronto won three of four games against the Pacers this season and they covered in all three wins. They are 22-7 ATS in this series long term, and there aren’t many better betting trends than that in the NBA. Toronto obviously matches up well here and they are a very dominant home team that is often underrated here at home (23-18 ATS this season). Indiana has just been so inconsistent this season and we just think they would have to play their best game to cover this number in Game 1 and we don’t see it happening. These teams played on 4/8 and the Raptors won by 13 on this same floor with Kyle Lowry out. They are probably looking at a similar result tonight and we think there is a great chance that the Raptors make quick work of this series and win it in 4 or 5. We think they will make a statement here in Game 1 in front of a raucous home crowd.

If the Warriors weren’t playing for the all-time regular season record tonight then this would be one of the biggest games of the season as it will be Kobe Bryant’s last game of an incredible career. This game is one of the hottest tickets in town and prices are going through the roof. We just don’t see any way the Lakers don’t give 100% effort here to try to get Kobe a win in his last game. This team stinks this year and they have had some bad games through the long slog of the NBA season but when this team tries hard they can be a good bet as there is some talent here on the floor. The Jazz are in big trouble for the playoffs. They need to win here and have Houston lose at home vs. a Sacramento team that won’t be playing Cousins or Rondo. The Rockets are 15-point favorites. The Jazz will probably know their fate by the time this game starts or early in the game and we think they will fall flat here. We think the Lakers offense will play well here and with Gobert out for Utah their defense will not be up to its normal standards.

Rose and Gasol are out here for the Bulls and we think this is just too many points to be giving the Sixers tonight. The Bulls have been a bad bet all year at home and they have failed more often than not when laying big points like this. The Sixers have been good bouncing back from a bad game lately and are 4-0 ATS when coming off an ATS loss. We think the Bulls just want this season over with and we don’t expect a very good performance from them tonight. They probably do enough to win but not cover this big number. Philly has been playing hard with limited talent and we think they want to end the season on a positive note. These teams went to overtime in the last meeting, in January, and we expect this game to be cloer than the oddsmakers think.

The Clippers are locked into the No. 4 seed for the NBA Playoffs. The Grizzlies can finish anywhere from 5 to 7 depending on how the next two days shake out. If the Grizzlies were to finish No. 5 then they would play the Clippers. That is a long shot but that is the absolute best-case scenario for the Clippers to play the Grizzlies who are down two injured starters that won’t be back for the playoffs. Portland would be a much tougher matchup for the Clippers and what motivation do they have here to play hard tonight? Blake Griffin is getting back into game shape and we think that Doc Rivers will tinker with some lineups here and probably give the starters reduced minutes. The goal for this game is to get Griffin some minutes and for the bench to continue to contribute. Memphis will play hard here and they always match up well with the Clips and these two teams are rivals and we think the Grizzlies will play hard tonight against a disinterested Clippers team.

These two teams are Nos. 7 and 8 in the current Western Conference Playoff hunt but neither has clinched and Houston is hot on their trail. This one is going to have a playoff atmosphere and we aren’t sure the Jazz deserve to be this big of favorites tonight. This is going to be a low-scoring defensive game like the playoffs and that makes the points all the more valuable tonight. Dallas has been playing extremely well and they fought hard against a motivated Clippers team yesterday. This back-to-back doesn’t hurt them as much as normal because they played in the matinee on Sunday. And that was their first slipup in six games. We just expect a very close game here and we think this one will go down to the final seconds. Dallas has slowed down the pace lately and they are playing playoff basketball style right now and they have been playing as good of defense as anyone in the league lately and Utah is also one of the best defensive teams in the league so if any total should be in the 170s we think this is it.

Just have to go with the more motivated team tonight. We had this line at Houston -6 with a lean to the Rockets at that number so we like this number even more. Houston is on the outside looking in right now for the playoff picture as they are in the No. 9 spot trailing Dallas and Utah, who play tonight. With a win here they can gain some ground on one of those teams. Minnesota has won three straight and has been playing very well. But all three of those games were on the road, and tonight they come back home where they have been one of the worst bets in the NBA this season at 13-25-1 ATS. They are just 5-15 ATS here on the season playing against teams with losing records as will be the case tonight. Minnesota has been playing well but this team thrives in the role of the big underdog but they normally fall flat in situations like this and we think the desperate Rockets take care of business tonight against an inferior opponent.

The more Golden State strives for this regular-season record the more we think this team might flame out in the playoffs. This team is arguably playing its worst ball of the season heading into the playoffs and that’s not a great sign. They lost to Boston and Minnesota at home and barely got by a Memphis team missing a few key guys last night. Now they come into a back-to-back against San Antonio, who looks like the better team right now. They are doing things the right way and looking towards the playoffs instead of the regular season. But they want to keep their home winning streak intact so they will play this one like a playoff game and this is probably the last really important game for this team until the playoffs start. The Warriors look worn out and stressed out lately and we think the Spurs thump them by 7+ at home tonight.

The Magic have been one of the best bets in the NBA catching bigtime points as they are 7-1 ATS ad a dog of nine or more points. This young team always plays well with a chip on their shoulders and we think this will be a very close game. This is a regional rivalry and the Magic actually won just two nights ago when these teams played in Orlando. None of the last seven games has been decided by more than nine points. Orlando has won and covered in five of their last seven games and this team is playing well and looks like one that wants to finish the season off strong and with some momentum heading into next season. This is one of the better ATS teams in the league and they are underrated on a nightly basis. Victor Oladipo is out with a concussion and that is a reason we are getting a really nice line here but this team has plenty of young talent and we think they will step up here in what we expect to be a very competitive game.

It looks like the Clippers plan to play all the starters here and even though the Mavs need this win to clinch the playoffs we think the Clippers will want to get into playoff-ready mode here and they are the much stronger team with a full roster. We expect the home team to notch a comfortable win here. The Clippers bench has gotten a lot of extra playing time lately and they have played very well. Jamal Crawford especially. And the starters have played very sparingly lately so they should be fresh and ready for a big game here. Dallas has been playing well, no doubt, but that has been against a pretty easy schedule and this is by far the toughest matchup they have had in their last six games, all wins. We had the Clippers -8 here and since our number is on the other side of the key NBA number of 7 that makes this a very strong play on Sunday.

Taking the Wolves on the road against winning teams has been one of the best betting trends in the NBA at 14-3 ATS and we will take another shot at them tonight. Minnesota comes into this one playing with a ton of confidence and they have won two straight, including the biggest upset of the season with their win at Golden State. Portland has now passed Memphis for the No. 5 seed, a spot they probably won’t relinquish, and they won’t play with too much urgency here. The Wolves covered in the last meeting in Portland, a Blazers three-point win, and we expect a similar result here. Minnesota seems to want to finish the season on a high note as this team will be a player in the Western Conference next year and they also seem to give their best effort against the best teams in the west. We think this one will be a close game tonight and the Wolves will once again surprise on the road with another cover.

This is the final game at Sleep Train Arena for the Kings and this is one of the hottest tickets in town in Sacramento and they are having ceremonies and former players in town and a bunch of hoopla. We think the Kings will try hard here for the win with the spotlight on them. This team has a lot of talent. But they have not always given the effort. But there is a reason to think they will tonight in the last game at this arena. The Thunder are locked into the No. 3 spot in the West and they should rest some guys tonight. We like this line even if they don’t, but there is always a chance for a late scratch here and we expect the Kings to play their full roster in this marquee matchup. Sacramento actually normally plays pretty well in this series and have covered in four of the last five matchups. We think this will be a close game and if the Thunder really don’t care then an upset could be in order on Saturday night.

Golden State is not playing its best basketball right now and they are 3-5 ATS in their last eight games. This is another inflated number tonight. This team is concentrating on the regular season record more than focusing on the playoffs and it hasn’t been working well as they lost to both Boston and Minnesota at home this month for their first two home losses in ages. This is a big sandwich game for them as they just played the Spurs and they have the Spurs again on Sunday and they will be much more focused on that game in Texas than this one and they have to travel right after this game to the Lone Star State. Coach Kerr wants to focus on the playoffs but the players want to go for the record and getting too cocky is not good for NBA teams and, who knows, this team could flame out in the playoffs because of this. Memphis will be desperate for a win here since they just dropped from the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and will face the Thunder instead of the Spurs if they don’t get a couple wins to close the season. The Griz are 11-5 ATS in back-to-backs this season and we think they keep this one within double digits at home.

This is a very possible first-round preview for the NBA Playoffs next weekend. Toronto is pretty much locked into the No. 2 seed and they have absolutely no motivation in this game. The Pacers are one of four teams fighting for the last two playoff spots in the east. They need to keep winning in order to secure their spot in the dance (they clinch with a win here) as well as to avoid Cleveland in Round 1 by falling to the No. 8 seed, and they are currently in the No. 7 position. Toronto is more focused on getting ready for the playoffs and you never know who will or won’t suit up for this team tonight with nothing to play for and Indiana will be playing with the intensity of a playoff game. There is a reason this line is so large for the Pacers on the road against one of the best teams in the east, but we don’t think it’s large enough as the Raptors will probably not want to tip their hand to a potential first-round opponent and they probably don’t care about winning this game much if at all.

Just think this is too many points for the Hornets to be laying here. Brooklyn has been an excellent bet as a big road dog this season and they are 13-7 ATS on the road against winning teams. This team has not played well lately but the lines are getting bigger and bigger and we thought this line should be closer to 12. Nic Batum has missed a couple games for the Hornets and he is a real glue guy for this team. Even though he is expected to be back tonight he probably won’t be anywhere near 100%. The Hornets can’t really move down in the playoff standings and they won’t want to risk further injury for Batum and we just don’t think this game is an urgent situation for Charlotte while the Nets have suffered some blowouts lately and we expect them to play hard and with some pride here. Brooklyn is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings here and we think this line is a bit too large, thus creating value with the underdog. This one can be a blowout and we can still cash the ticket!

The Kings just run run run and they don’t play any defense and the Wolves are a team that likes to run and plays shoddy defense as well and we think this one will be a barnburner tonight that will be a fun game to watch for those that like scoring. With nothing to play for, why not make the fans happy? The Kings are the worst defensive team in the NBA and one of the highest scoring, and their totals have gone higher than normal lately as they have gone over in four of six games despite some high posted totals. We think this is a letdown spot for the Wolves after beating Golden State in overtime last time out for the biggest win of the year. What do they have to play for moving forward? Not much. This team is already looking towards next year with all the young talent and they did their work by beating Golden State so there is not much left to play for this season. We expect a poor defensive effort here but they will be able to score on this Sacramento defense. With a near-full roster for the Kings we think they will play well here in one of their final home games. They have had a pretty tough schedule lately so this is a good spot for a convincing win. Remember, before that Warriors game the Wolves had lost five straight ATS and because of their big win Tuesday we think they are overvalued tonight.

Golden State is another team that has lost that killer instinct. They have covered in only three of their last nine games. Part of the reason is the stress of playing for this record to beat the Bulls all-time regular season mark. We think this is a stupid idea and it shows this team has overinflated egos. They need to be thinking about the playoffs and repeating as champs, and this misguided focus has caused them to not play up to the level we are used to seeing. Thankfully for our line tonight they pounded Portland last time out and that has caused this line to be overinflated. The Wolves have not been playing great but they normally get up for games like this. They have covered in four of the last five meetings in this series and the one loss was by 13, so they did not embarrass themselves. After some bad recent results they will want to play well here and this is one of the last highlight games of their season before the offseason starts next week. They will play hard here, and this team has a lot of young talent and they get up for marquee opponents. Minnesota is an amazing 13-3 ATS on the road against winning teams, so this is where they do their best work in the situation we see them in tonight. They are also 15-8 ATS this season when getting eight or more points so they are often undervalued as an underdog. Golden State has San Antonio on deck so that is another distraction.

We are getting a nice line here because the Spurs have won and covered all three meetings this season. They were all blowouts. But Utah is playing its best basketball of the season right now and their defense has been incredible – as good or better than the Spurs, the No. 1 defensive team in the league, lately. All the motivation is with the home team tonight. They are currently in the No. 8 position for the playoffs but there are three teams bunched up going for those last two spots so they have to keep winning. They lost here at home to Golden State in overtime and they lost at OKC but those were the only blips onb their radar as they have won and covered in the other six out of their last eight. The Spurs don’t have that killer instinct right now. They are locked into their playoff spot. They have covered only one of their last five games. This could very well be their first-round opponent and they will probably not want to show much. Key players could also get limited minutes tonight. Just think this is a great spot for the Utah team that has all the motivation tonight. The Spurs also have Golden State on deck Thursday and are probably thinking more about that game than this one.

Blake Griffin will return for this game. While that is a good thing for the Clippers in the playoffs, we don’t think it’s a good thing for them today. This team can’t really move up or down for playoff seeding so the rest of the regular season will involve fine tuning the roster and getting everyone in playoff shape. That is much more important than winning. Not only will Griffin be rusty but these guys have not played together in a long time and there will be some kinks to work out. A few miscues can equate into a handful of points, which can affect the outcome of the spread. Washington is a couple games out of the playoff picture and they need this game more than anything. This is an early game and they are off for two days after this so we can see them leaving everything on the court here. We expect a very close game here and a Wizards outright win would not be shocking. The Clippers were a pretty poor ATS team with Griffin in the lineup and they did well once they were undervalued upon his departure but this line looks inflated because of his return and the underdog is a solid value play here.

Dallas has dominated this series, winning six straight matchups. They won the last meeting by 27 points. This is a must-win game for the Mavs while the Timberwolves have nothing to play for and won’t have the same urgency as the road team. Dallas is one of three teams fighting for the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in the west. Dallas is a streaky team. They followed a three-game losing streak with three straight wins heading into this matchup. This team is definitely one to follow when they are hot and this squad has covered in five of their last seven games overall so they are underrated by the oddsmakers. We had this line handicapped at Dallas -6.5 so we think there is some nice value here. Minnesota has been one of the worst betting teams at home as they are 13-24-1 ATS this season on their home court. Dallas is 20-17-1 ATS on the road, where they are underrated again today. Dallas has covered in five of the last six meetings, and we just doubt that Minnesota comes to play with the same intensity as the Mavs do today. If this is a playoff team it has to win this type of game against an overmatched opponent.

Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins are out here for the Kings. Those are their two best players. And Denver coach Mike Malone will not have any sympathy for this short-handed squad as it is the one that fired him last season. This is the kind of guy that players respect and we have no doubt that his team will play hard for him tonight while we just don’t see the Kings putting up much of an effort as they have absolutely nothing to play for and they pretty much stink even with Rondo and Cousins in the lineup. Denver has had a tough, road-heavy stretch lately and they haven’t played too well. But this team has some talent and they will be ultra motivated being at home for the first time in a bit and playing this particular opponent that is weakened without its stars.

This is basically a must-win game for both teams here. The Pistons have a small cushion as they two games ahead of the Bulls in the No. 7 spot in the East and Chicago is currently No. 9 and one game out of the playoffs. But we think the Pistons are the better team in this matchup and we thought this line should be pickem or Detroit -1. The Bulls have had a couple nice games lately but this team hasn’t shown any consistency all season and we don’t see them changing their stripes during the stretch run. This team hasn’t been a good bet at home all season and we think this will be a close game but expect the Pistons to close it out at the end. They are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings and 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Chicago.

Just think this is too many points for the Celtics. These teams played a great game in December in Boston and the Warriors pulled it out in OT. That shows us that Boston can hang with Golden State. The Celtics lost last night in Portland and they really need to win here. Although that probably won’t happen we think this will be a very competitive game and it’s not often you get Boston, one of the better ATS teams this season, catching double-digit points. In fact, this is the largest spread they have faced this season by far. Boston has a clean injury sheet tonight and this team has been very good in back-to-backs (11-6 SU and 10-7 ATS). Golden State has covered only two of their last seven games so this team is not executing every night against inflated oddsmaker numbers.

These teams played a few nights ago in Philly. The Hornets won that one by 15 exactly. We always say we don’t think revenge is a big factor in NBA handicapping but when teams played recently it sure can be a main factor. And we think that will be the case tonight. That game is still fresh for the Sixers and we think they can make some adjustments and do some things right that they didn’t do last game out. They also shot very poorly in that game with less than 32 percent shooting for the game. That number, just by the law of averages, has to go way up here. There is not much incentive for the Hornets to change their gameplan and they will probably win by a decent amount but this is just too many points and we are confident that the Sixers will keep this one within double digits. Philly has been better at covering lines on the road, too.

Revenge isn’t a big factor in our NBA handicapping but it does come in to play at certain times, and we think when teams have played recently that it can have an effect on the next game, especially if that result was ugly for one team. And that’s what we have here as the Blazers got beat down at the start of the month in Boston. But Portland is a much better team at home (24-12) than on the road (15-24) and so is Boston (17-19 on the road). Portland will for sure remember that game in Boston and we think they bring their A Game tonight. Just don’t like the way Boston has been playing overall and this team has had a pretty easy schedule. Jae Crowder will probably return tonight for Boston but he will probably not be 100%. We just thought this line was short as we had this one at 5.5 or 6.0 and think there is some nice value here.

Going to take a shot here on the Clips against this big number even though the Clippers will be resting the main starters tonight. But this bench has been playing well lately and the Thunder probably won’t give maximum effort here with CP3, DJ and Redick all resting tonight. The bench players for the Clippers will want to win this game against a main Western Conference rival and although we don’t think that is realistic we think they have a great chance to keep this one within 10 against a likely uninterested OKC team. Jamal Crawford has been hot lately and he can keep the Clippers in this game with an expanded role tonight.

This game is a must-win for both teams but we think the Rockets are in a better position for a big win here at home on Thursday night. The Bulls are on the outside looking in for the playoffs in the east while the Rockets are one of three teams with 37 wins vying for the last two playoff spots in the west. Even though these teams have almost identical records the Rockets seem to be on the way up and we think they will make the playoffs while the Bulls have all sorts of problems right now and this is a team trending down. We don’t think the Bulls will be in the postseason. Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson are banged up tonight and will probably not be at 100% while the Rockets are pretty healthy. Houston has won two of three and beat the Cavs on the road last time out, and even though LeBron didn’t play in that game they should come in here with a lot of confidence. Even though Chicago was off on Wednesday this will be their third game in four nights and this team just doesn’t have great morale right now and they recently had an internal meeting after a blowout loss at Orlando and that didn’t produce any positive results as they went out and lost at home to Atlanta the next game out. Chicago has dropped four of their last five overall and we see them trailing off in the fourth quarter here since this team has played a lot in the last few nights and we think there is a great chance for a Rockets double-digit win here.

This is one of those series where we have seen a one-sided domination by the better team. The Clippers have won 14 of 15 in this series and the Timberwolves have covered in just one of the last 10 meetings here at home. The Clippers are on an upswing lately, winning three straight games, including a blowout of Boston last time out at home. This team is playing very well and the news that Blake Griffin will be returning seems to have given this team a spark as well as the fact that the playoffs are right around the corner and they want to get into playoff form. That means beating up on this lesser opponent tonight, and we think that is just what they will do. Minnesota has been back and forth lately and they don’t seem to put in the same effort every night. This team has been one of the worst home bets in the NBA at 13-23-1 ATS, and we think they are getting too much credit here again tonight against an in-form Clippers team.

We think this is a great spot for a double-digit blowout by the home team. The Bucks are a full 10 games better than the Suns in the win column and they have had a disappointing season and fallen below expectations. But they are the much better team here in this matchup. The Bucks have had a tough stretch lately. They have lost five straight. They have had an incredibly tough schedule, however, since all of their last seven opponents would be in the playoffs if the postseason started today. But that just means we are getting a much better line here than if this team has had some better results on the scoreboard. After losing five straight they have to give a very strong effort here at home. The Suns have had a more favorable schedule lately that has seen them cover some games. This team plays hard despite a lack of talent. But we don’t see them getting up for this game against an out-of-conference opponent that isn’t a playoff team. The Bucks have been very solid in this pointspread range as they are 8-4 ATS of a favorite of 7.5 or fewer points. This is a good chance for the Bucks to get back on track and they have had three days off to prepare for this game and rest, and there’s no reason to think we won’t see the best effort from Milwaukee tonight.

Love the Magic in this spot under the key NBA betting number of 7. The Nets come in on a back-to-back after playing at the Heat on Monday. That’s a tough back-to-back for a team with nothing to play for and both on the road. And the Nets really trailed off in the fourth quarter after playing pretty good most of the game and they ran out of gas late and that does not bode well for them going on the road and playing a team that has had two nights of rest. Orlando should be confident here after a 20+-point home blowout of the Bulls in the first game back off a long road trip. This team didn’t play well on that road trip, but they have covered in five of their last eight games overall and they are also 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings in this series.

The Bulls have major problems and this has been one of the worst betting teams in the NBA all season. They just have a knack for underperforming this season and the oddsmakers have a bit too much respect for them. This team is 30-43 ATS on the season. They should be 29-44 ATS but anyone who followed our Atlanta pick against them last night knows we had a bad beat on that one due to a meaningless three at the buzzer. And that was their first cover in five games. Chicago displayed a real lack of effort on a nightly basis. They come in here to play a team that needs this win for playoff positioning and, although inconsistent, they are a much better team that Chicago right now. And the Bulls have been horrible in back-to-backs this season at 5-10 ATS and now they have to play this one on the road in a hostile environment. We think this is a great spot for a double-digit win by the home team. Chicago is 0-5 in the last five meetings in Indiana and 1-6 in the last seven overall.

The Hornets already beat Philly by 20 on this same court earlier this month and we don’t see why this one will be any different. Charlotte is quietly playing some of the best basketball in the Eastern Conference and this team continues to be underrated. In fact, they won both meetings in this series by 20 or more points. Philly has covered three straight, but those were all on the road. This team is just 15-20-1 ATS at home this season. They are often overvalued at home where most teams have a great home-court advantage. We just don’t see that big of an edge for Philly at home with the apathetic fans and not many more wins (6) than they have on the road (3). This is the first game back after a four-game road trip for Philly, and that is traditionally a bad spot for a young team like this that’s not mentally tough. Charlotte has had a couple days off and we expect a big game from them tonight.

The Clippers have won two straight and they looked very impressive vs. the Nuggets yesterday. Even though they are on a back-to-back they played very early Sunday in the matinee and this is the latest game on the board Monday so they will have plenty of time to recharge. Of course, Doc Rivers used to coach for the Celtics and by all accounts he is very well liked by his Clippers players and there’s no doubt they will want to play hard for him against his old team. And no doubt the Clippers are a lot better team than the Celtics and this line indicates home-court advantage and not much more. Even though Blake Griffin isn’t back on the court yet, he will be soon and we think that gave the Clippers an extra spark on Sunday and we think that will carry over here. The Celtics have had a very easy schedule lately that has masked some of their deficiencies but we don’t think this team is in top form right now.

The Bulls had a big meeting to air out their problems after their blowout loss to the Magic and now they have lost three straight, including a home-and-home sweep by the Knicks. They wouldn’t even need a meeting to air things out if this team wasn’t performing way under expectations and these types of meetings rarely produce results as these guys are professionals and should be doing their jobs in the first place. Team morale is low and tonight they face one of the more professional teams in the NBA, and even though the Hawks are on the road we think this one is a mismatch. Atlanta has won eight of their last nine games and this team is just rolling right now. They have won and covered all three meetings this season, and all three have been blowouts. Chicago has been one of the worst bets in the NBA this season at 29-43 ATS and this is another spot where they are getting too much respect.

This Brooklyn team has been excellent this season as a big dog and they are 14-8 ATS when getting nine or more points. You always have to look at them when getting double digits, especially on the road where they are 13-5 ATS against above-.500 teams this season. Miami is just 5-8 ATS when laying seven or more points and more often than not this team plays down to its level of competition when laying a big number like this. The Nets are not one of these teams rolling over at the end of their season. They are 3-0 ATS in their last three games and coming off home wins over probable playoff teams Indiana and Cleveland. They will come into this game with a lot of confidence and they are pretty healthy right now. Miami has been playing well but this is too many points against this feisty Nets team.

The Raptors are a good team but the Thunder are one of the best teams in the NBA and we like them laying this short number on the road. OKC started off the season as one of the worst betting teams in the league. They were dealing with a new coach and players coming back from injury. Lately, however, they are in playoff form and they have covered six of their last eight games. Toronto is not in the best form right now. They got a big win in New Orleans last time out but that team is a shell of the squad we knew from last season and they have dropped two of their last three and covered only against the Pelicans in their last four. We think this will be a close, hard-fought game but we see the cream rising to the top late in the fourth and the Thunder pulling away.

The Magic are one of the better ATS teams in the league this season and they have been perfect as a big underdog as they are 7-0 ATS when getting nine or more points, which is the case for this line tonight. Miami hasn’t been good laying big points as they are 4-8 ATS when laying seven or more points this season. This is a regional rivalry game and we think the Magic will come to play tonight. Even though the Magic have failed to cover their last two games they are 4-2 ATS in their last six and Miami just isn’t a good enough team to cover a double-digit line on a regular basis. These games have traditionally been close and the Heat have won by double digits only once in the last six meetings, and that was over three years ago.

We think the Raptors are the much better team in this matchup and we expect them to take care of business here on the road. These teams played earlier this month in Toronto and the Rockets scored a big road win. Revenge doesn’t factor into our handicapping much for NBA but it does play into things when the previous matchup was recent like this one. But other than that game Toronto has covered in four of the last six meetings. This team is very solid on the road and they actually have the same amount of wins on the road that Houston has at home. Toronto is coming off an embarrassing loss at Boston and they will be eager to play better here against a very beatable opponent. The Rockets have lost three straight and are just not playing well right now. And this team is also one of the worst ATS teams in the league this season.

The Wizards are playing some of their best basketball of the season and have won five of their last six games. They were in a bad spot last time out on a home-and-home against the Hawks and lost the second game, but after facing Atlanta twice in three days they take a big step down in competition here. Washington is really making a push for the playoffs and to us this is a definite playoff team even though this team took awhile to get things together. The Wizards are healthy right now and this team is already in playoff mode because they have to be since they are on the outside looking in for the playoffs. Washington has covered in nine of the last 10 meetings in this series at home, and we think the Wolves are getting too much credit here. They have been covering some lines lately but we think Washington is poised for a big win tonight.

The Pacers have dominated this series with nine straight wins. They have covered in eight straight meetings covering more than four years time. The Pelicans will be without their three best players here. Tyreke Evans is out for the season. Anthony Davis has been recently shut down. Ryan Anderson is out indefinitely and is likely to be shut down soon. When Jrue Holiday is your go-to man, you know you have problems. The Pacers are in the thick of the logjam in the Eastern Conference playoff picture and they need to keep winning in order to solidify their position. They have a big chance to create some separation here with this game and also a road game at Brooklyn on Saturday. The Pelicans have not played well as a big underdog, cashing in just 30 percent of those games with a 3-7 ATS mark. This team stunk even when it was healthy but without these key players and having Davis shelved for the remainder of the season, what motivation does the rest of the team have to rise up here against an out-of-conference opponent? Healthy Pacers win big here.

The Clippers are one of the few teams that match up well with the Warriors. They are the last team to beat Golden State in a playoff series and this is their biggest rival. They have covered in four of the last six meetings and we love them getting these big points tonight. We think this will be a close game. The Clippers have lost four of six and haven’t been playing well but they always get up for this matchup and we expect them to bring their A Game tonight as this will be their only chance to avoid a Warriors sweep on the regular season. Golden State didn’t look very good in their last two games in a loss at San Antonio and a close win at Minnesota. It’s hard for a team to keep up that killer instinct all season long and this team looks a bit vulnerable right now. The Clippers are one of the teams that has what it takes to win at Oracle. Not saying they will win here, but we think this will be a very competitive game.